Mr. B's efforts to nurse me back to health during my recent bout with the flu included opening a can of Progresso Chicken Tuscany soup for lunch yesterday. I read the label and figured maybe I could duplicate it with dehydrated food for backpacking. I feel much better today and tried it. It worked well, and it's certainly open to editing to suit your own preferences.

I used harmonyhousefoods.com's dried vegetables and beans, and packitgourmet.com's soy powder and freeze-dried chicken. I didn't use all the ingredients listed on the can, mostly because I have no idea what corn syrup solids are.

I pre-soaked the soup ingredients for a few hours with 1/4 C unheated water, because the beans and veggies take longer to hydrate and soften than the time the water stays hot. So plan ahead - add the water at breakfast for lunch soup, or in the afternoon for dinner soup.

A recipe is only a guide ;-P If a person doesn't care for the taste of soy sauce...the adapt it to your own taste. There are many flavorings a person can use instead. Soy sauce adds a certain element though (I even use soy sauce on a low sodium diet - I just buy lower sodium versions, you can even find that in packets online from Minimus).

OK, Sarah, I have the ingredients soaking in a bowl right now, sans soy. This will be an interesting breakfast. I'll have soy at the ready in case it's needed. By the way, where does one find PINT-sized freezer ziplocks?

Well, ladies, it was a fun experiment. First, I sipped a little without soy--not bad. I liked what the Nido did. Then I tried 1/2 tsp of liquid soy, and that was OK, I guess. I'm not a fan of soy, so that was a so-so thing for me. But something still didn't taste right. I added a few shakes of Italian seasoning, and things were good after that. So Sarah was right--start with the basic idea, then alter to please your brain's yum center. The key is to get the beans rehydrated well (which I was too impatient to fully do). Thanks for the idea--it's a good recipe for variety. It should totally rock with pizza muffins on the side.

What Sarah said. The ingredients are guidelines. Since I've bribed all the recipe police to focus just on people who use mushrooms, you've got lots of room to experiment safely.

I used the soy powder to add a fullness to the taste, and it doesn't really add an Asian flavor, although Mr. Progresso probably used the 3 soy variations in his canned version for thickening - soy proteins, soy protein isolate, and soy lecithin. I don't know what those are, and I probably don't want to know. I like a mild soup so this worked for me and appealed to what I crave at camp on a cool evening.

Next time I'll probably add some parmesan cheese. If my grandfather made this, he'd add a giant spoonful of peanut butter. If my brother made it, he'd throw in salsa. If Sarah isn't watched carefully, she'd probably add mushrooms. And yes, this went great with her pizza muffins. Please post any other variations that are working. Another thought I had is to use this in just its pre-soaked mode as a spread. Just a little more water, and it's stew. Even more, and it's back to being soup. Food is fun!

About the harmonyhousefoods.com 20% sale. This would be a good time to try their Greek lentil soup and their great northern bean stew. Both are terrific, and I use them even in town. I haven't tried the other soups. Their vegetables and beans taste so good, I'm wondering out loud if it's cost-effective to use them more frequently in a regular "town" diet and not just for backpacking food. Then there's the question of their nutritional content. Anyone know?

I often grab the beans and the veggies if I need just a bit when cooking at home! Like celery for example...if I buy a bunch of it I never use it up fresh. So why not save money and use the dry? Ta-da! Same with leeks and shallots. (I LOVE the shallots they sell!!!!)

Overall dried foods retain most of their nutrients. Especially if you use the rehydrating water in your food!